Sharing Dreams with My Bestie's Cousin

Chapter 70: Affectionate

Chapter 70: Affectionate

“I’m not going.”

Wen Zhi really didn’t feel like going. She lifted a hand to rub at her lower back and turned deliberately to avoid his words, “Sweeping fifty-three steps is so tiring, I need to rest.”

Shang Hexing grabbed her wrist, “Wait a moment.”

Wen Zhi looked down at the hand on her wrist, “Mr. Shang, is there something else you want to say?”

Shang Hexing reminded her, “The tea isn’t drunk yet, it’s getting cold.”

“I don’t want the tea, and…” She subtly tried to pull her hand away, “Mr. Shang, your grip hurts.”

Shang Hexing’s fingers loosened a bit, but his palm moved up a few inches, shifting to clasp her forearm. Wen Zhi hadn’t reacted before she was pulled down to sit by Shang Hexing.

Wen Zhi was somewhat annoyed, “Mr. Shang, you… eh… no, no…”

Before she could finish speaking, the situation suddenly changed.

She saw Shang Hexing’s other hand reaching over, resting it on her waist, and then he began to rub her lower back with the pads of his fingers, “Is it here? Let me help you rub it.”

She kept a stiff face, awkwardly dodging his hand.

Seeing her struggle, he warned her, “If you keep moving about, it’s easy to press the wrong place, to touch where you shouldn’t.”

Wen Zhi’s body stiffened, and she immediately stopped moving, whispering to him, “Don’t do that.”

“What’s that?” he asked calmly in return.

His gaze upon her was so unruffled it sparked not a single stray thought, as though he was engaged in a most casual and natural act. Even his hands maintained an honorable distance, not straying to any inappropriate place.

Wen Zhi stopped struggling, only saying, “Your strength is a bit too much.”

The pressure from his fingertips eased, and his low, deep voice reached her ear, “If it’s not right, just say so.”

Wen Zhi replied, “Okay.”

Shang Hexing’s massage technique, whether special or not, tickled and soothed Wen Zhi, significantly relieving her sore back and waist.

Fifty-three steps, swept for a very long time, her back was so bent she could hardly straighten up.

“Feeling better?” he asked as he noticed her face relax.

Wen Zhi’s hand unintentionally rested on his arm, “Much better now, not as sore… Thank you.”

Shang Hexing withdrew his hand, moving his wrist around, “You came here for peace, not for hardship. Next time you’re assigned so much work, you can refuse.”

“I know.” Wen Zhi confessed to him, “But I don’t want to refuse. I’ve had trouble sleeping lately. Being busy with work helps me fall asleep easier.”

“You’re having trouble sleeping here?” he inquired.

“It’s like that in a new place; I’ll adapt after a while.” It was only the fourth day, and it was already much better than the first two nights.

Shang Hexing saw the faint shadows under her eyes and leaned back a bit, “Why bother?”

“What?” She didn’t understand his three words.

He smiled and said it was nothing. After moving his wrist, he laid it flat on the stone table. Wen Zhi kept staring at his wrist and asked, “Is your wrist sore?”

“It’s nothing,” he responded nonchalantly.

Wen Zhi hesitated before saying, “Mr. Shang, you’ve been very good to me.”

But Shang Hexing asked her, “Why do you think I’m good to you?”

Wen Zhi choked, regretting her words. His light, airy counter-question left her at a loss for a response.

Unable to say anything, Shang Hexing’s eyes crinkled with a smile as he reminded her, “Go lie down for a while.”

Wen Zhi had been eager to go inside and rest, but now that her soreness had subsided under his hands, she wasn’t in a hurry to return to her room.

With no one around, she looked at him for quite some time, and after much thought, she reached out to take the cup of tea from the table.

Shang Hexing stopped her, “It’s cold, don’t drink it.”

Wen Zhi uttered an affirmative sound, and got up to go back to her room.

The weather was hot, and the Dormitory House didn’t have air conditioning, just a small electric fan. Wen Zhi pressed the switch of the electric fan, and the buzzing sound was so loud it gave her a headache.

She lay on the bed, tossing and turning with Shang Hexing’s face filling her mind. Unconsciously, her hand rested on her waist—the spot he had pressed.

Her waist felt better, but he must have been sore after rubbing it for so long. He held a high position, usually others fawned over and served him, yet today he condescended to rub her waist. Whose heart was secretly fluttering…

Wen Zhi accidentally overslept this time.

It was the knocking from outside that woke her up.

Wen Zhi was dazed for a moment and looked outside the window; the sky was hazy, looking like both evening and early morning. She was disoriented from sleep and couldn’t quite tell the time, so she got out of bed and shuffled to the door in her slippers.

“Mr. Shang?”

Wen Zhi rubbed her eyes and called out.

The light from under the eaves of the Dormitory House shone on Shang Hexing, who looked at her with a gentle expression, “Get ready and let’s go eat.”

Wen Zhi glanced behind him, confused, “To have breakfast?”

Shang Hexing couldn’t help but chuckle, “You not only overslept but also woke up confused?”

Wen Zhi blinked her almond-shaped eyes, “What time is it now?”

“Nineteen thirty-four,” he told her.

Wen Zhi raised a hand to her forehead, “Heavens! I actually slept until now!”

If she had woken up any later, she would have nearly missed the time for the evening meal.

She hastily got ready and followed Shang Hexing to the Vegetarian Hall.

There weren’t many people in the Vegetarian Hall now, since most of the monks had already finished eating and gone to participate in chanting and meditation. Kong Ci was still there when Wen Zhi arrived. He had just finished a bowl of vegetable soup and looked up to see Wen Zhi come in, asking, “Why are you so late?”

Wen Zhi blurted awkwardly, “I overslept.”

Kong Ci’s gaze moved past Wen Zhi to Shang Hexing behind her. He didn’t ask anything, instead uncovering the bowl beside him, “I’ve saved some dishes for you. It’s enough for one person. If there are two of you, you’ll just have to make do.”

Wen Zhi immediately said, “I don’t eat much; it’s enough.”

After saying this, she gave Shang Hexing a look.

Shang Hexing was quite easygoing, without any pretense, even when he was away from home. He went and got two servings of food, sat down opposite Kong Ci, and left the spot next to him for Wen Zhi.

As soon as Wen Zhi sat down and picked up her chopsticks, she heard Kong Ci across from her ask, “What is your relationship with this gentleman?”

Wen Zhi’s chopsticks motion paused, she turned her head to look at Shang Hexing, who had no reaction—completely composed. Then she looked back at Kong Ci and promptly cleared her throat to say, “He’s a distant relative of mine.”

After speaking, Wen Zhi reached for the dishes with her chopsticks.

A piece of tofu, boiled in water, quite bland.

Kong Ci across from her furrowed his brows, a puzzled tone in his voice, “A relative?”

Wen Zhi nodded while eating, “Yeah.”

Kong Ci said, “But the way your relative looks at you, from the perspective of a monk, seems somewhat off.”

Wen Zhi asked, “In what way?”

Kong Ci answered earnestly, “I’m not an expert, but I think it looks quite like the way the male bird in the birdcage under the Wutong tree in the backyard looks at the female bird.”

“Cough—” Wen Zhi choked on her vegetable.

The goddamned look a male bird gives a female bird…

Such a description was unrivaled.

Shang Hexing wasn’t bothered by Kong Ci’s earlier description and naturally raised his hand to pat Wen Zhi’s back, “Eat slowly.”

Kong Ci observed, “It looks even more similar now.”

“Cough, cough, cough—” Wen Zhi coughed even more violently, waving away Shang Hexing’s hand as she did so.